Entry 1 March 14, 2007

Today we began our I-Search project. It was a frustrating day. The hardware was slow, and I put in some of the wiki pages incorrectly.

The day did have some positive signs! The students seemed to grasp the difference between fat and skinny questions. Several of them have shown interest in topics already.

Mrs. Goodall was wonderful with the students. She did not put up with foolishness from some of them. She kept their attention and her composure through all good and bad events.



Entry 2 March 15, 2007

Today did not go very well. I feel overwhelmed by the number of wiki entries that I have to grade. I found that many students did not listen to instruction. I am concerned about those students who do seem to have an interest in developing research questions. I fear that they will be very bored with the project or choose poor topics.

Maybe tomorrow will go better.

Entry 3 March 20

Today was the first day of research. We look into databases for information. I enjoy databases. However I must admit that I struggle to find the perfect search term. I have chosen to tak notes in Noodles notcard as opposed to NetSnippets. My decision is working well for me.

The students seemed to have very few problems with the data bases. A few students are beginning to see the importance of a good fat question. I am sure that several students will change their fat questions tomorrow.

Entry 4 March 21
Today was a good day. Most students didn't seem frustrated by the research experience. I am hoping that they retain all of the skills that they are practicing for next school year!

The topics of the research are quite good. Only a few students had to change their fat question. I am expecting some very good papers.